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Abstract:

Provided is a method for allowing a debit or credit holder to choose the
amount of rewards received depending on a category of purchase.

Claims:

1. A method for allowing a credit or debit account holder to choose
amount of rewards received depending on a category of purchase,
comprising: a credit or debit account holder; a network; an account
issuer; wherein the account issuer provides the account holder a
selection between two or more different categories of purchases and two
or more different payout ratios of reward per unit of currency spent, and
the account holder selects at least one category of purchase to be at a
lower or higher reward pay out ratio relative to other categories of
purchases carried out through said network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the different categories of purchases
are selected from the group consisting of at least one or more of
groceries, gasoline, travel, telecommunication (phone bills),
restaurants, leisure, air travel, lodging, food, car rental, hotels,
automobile, housing, business, rent, drugstore, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pay-out ratio is single, double,
triple or quadruple rewards per U.S. dollar spent.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of selections vary depending
on the status of the account holder.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the account holder earns specific types
of rewards after each purchase.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the account holder earns general types
of rewards after each purchase that need to be redeemed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein every category of purchase of the
account holder earns a reward.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein some category of purchases of the
account holder earn no reward.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of categories allowed for a
accountholder to choose from is 2 to about 10 choices.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the account issuer provides a credit
or debit card.

11. A method of maximizing reward for a debit or credit account holder
comprising: a credit or debit account holder; a network; a account
issuer; wherein the account issuer allows for selection between two or
more different categories of purchases and two or more different payout
ratios of reward per unit of currency spent, and the account issuer
calculates the different combinations of pay-out ratios for each
selection a account holder is allowed to make, and the account issuer
makes the selection that gives the account holder the maximum reward for
the purchases carried out with the account network for a period of time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the account issuer makes the
selection as part of preparing a statement for the account holder.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the statement is a monthly statement.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the different categories of purchases
are selected from the group consisting of at least one or more of
groceries, gasoline, travel, telecommunication (phone bills),
restaurants, leisure, air travel, lodging, food, car rental, hotels,
automobile, housing, business, rent, drugstore, and combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of selections vary
depending on the status of the account holder.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the account holder earns specific
types of rewards after each purchase.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the account holder earns general
types of rewards after each purchase that need to be redeemed.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein every category of purchase of the
account holder earns a reward.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein some category of purchases of the
account holder earn no reward.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of categories allowed for
a accountholder to choose from is 2 to about 10 choices.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional
application No. 61/492,810, filed on Jun. 3, 2011, which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Almost all credit and debit cards give some sort of rewards to card
holders, typically in the form of points based on the amount of money
spent by the card holder. These points are then redeemed by the card
holder for purchases.

[0003] A problem that exists with these reward systems in the lack of
choice for card holders since card holders cannot choose the number of
points obtained for each purchase. A credit card company often chooses
how many points per purchase a card holder obtains, such as one point per
dollar spent, with some purchases obtaining two points per dollar spent.
This one for all point structure does not reflect the choice and the
spending pattern of a card holder, and also fails to give additional
reward to the most valuable card holders. There is a need in the art for
a credit card reward system that allows card holders to decide the number
of points obtained per each dollar (or other currency) spent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Provided is a method for allowing a card holder (or any account
holder with or without a card) to choose the amount of rewards received
depending on a category of purchase, comprising: a credit or debit card
holder; a card network; a card issuer (or any account issuer whether or
not providing a card), wherein the card issuer provides the card holder a
selection between two or more different categories of purchases and two
or more different payout ratios of reward per unit of currency spent, and
the card holder selects at least one category of purchase to be at a
lower or higher reward pay out ratio relative to other categories of
purchases carried out through said card network. The different categories
of purchases can be selected from the group consisting of at least one or
more of groceries, gasoline, travel, telecommunication (phone bills),
restaurants, leisure, air travel, lodging, food, car rental, hotels,
automobile, housing, business, rent, drugstore, and combinations thereof.
The pay-out ratio can be single, double, triple or quadruple rewards per
U.S. dollar spent. The number of selections vary depending on the status
of the card holder. The card holder can earn specific or general types of
rewards after each purchase. Every or only some category of purchase can
earn a reward. The number of categories allowed for a cardholder to
choose from is 2 to about 10 choices, or about 4 to about 8 choices.

[0005] Provided is a method of maximizing reward for a card holder (or any
account holder with or without a card) comprising: a credit or debit card
holder, a card network, a card issuer, wherein the card issuer (or any
account issuer whether or not providing a card) allows for selection
between two or more different categories of purchases and two or more
different payout ratios of reward per unit of currency spent, and the
card issuer calculates the different combinations of pay-out ratios for
each selection a card holder is allowed to make, and the card issuer
makes the selection that gives the cardholder the maximum reward for the
purchases carried out with the card network for a period of time. The
card issuer can make the selection as part of preparing a monthly
statement for the card holder. The different categories of purchases can
be selected from the group consisting of at least one or more of
groceries, gasoline, travel, telecommunication (phone bills),
restaurants, leisure, air travel, lodging, food, car rental, hotels,
automobile, housing, business, rent, drugstore, and combinations thereof.
The pay-out ratio can be single, double, triple or quadruple rewards per
U.S. dollar spent. The number of selections vary depending on the status
of the card holder. The card holder can earn specific or general types of
rewards after each purchase. Every or only some category of purchase can
earn a reward. The number of categories allowed for a cardholder to
choose from is 2 to about 10 choices, or about 4 to about 8 choices.

[0006] The above embodiments are exemplified with a credit or debit card.
In one embodiment, the card issuer can be any account issuer that
provides rewards, whether or not an actual physical card is issued.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0007] FIG. 1 is a scheme of an embodiment where a card holder is given
the choice of selecting different pay-out ratios for at least two or more
different categories of purchases, the card hold making such selection,
card holder making purchases, and the card issuer awarding points based
on the pay-out ratio selected by the holder.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a scheme of an embodiment where the card issuer based on
the selections available to the card holder makes the determination of
what selection obtains the maximum awards at end of a billing cycle (or
monthly or quarterly or yearly statement), and awards the maximum points
to the card holder.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a card holder's computer screen where the card issuer is
allowing the card holder to make a selection at to which two out of five
categories should obtain double versus single points for each dollar
spent.

[0010] FIG. 4 is illustrates the interaction between a card a credit or
debit card holder, a card network; and a card issuer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention provides a method (FIG. 1) for allowing a
card holder (116) to choose the amount of rewards received depending on
the category of purchase. In this method, a card issuer (115) provides a
card holder (116) a selection between two or more different categories of
purchases (102, 109) and two or more different payout ratios of reward
per unit of currency spent (101), and the card holder (116) selects at
least one category of purchase to be at a lower or higher reward pay-out
ratio relative to other categories (102) of purchases carried out a
network (118).

[0012] The different categories of purchase (109) can include for example,
groceries, gasoline, travel, telecommunication (phone bills),
restaurants, leisure, air travel, lodging, food, car rental, hotels,
automobile, housing, business, rent, drugstore, and others. The number of
categories allowed for a cardholder (116) to choose from can be 2 to
about 10 choices, about 4 to about 8 choices, or any other number deemed
appropriate by the card issuer (115).

[0013] A credit or debit card holder (116) is given a choice as to what
purchases should earn single, double, triple or even quadruple points.
For example, a simple list of categories can be included such as
groceries, gasoline, travel, telecommunication (phone bills),
restaurants, and others (109). The card holder (116) is allowed to make
in this example one category to obtain double points with the rest single
points. A card holder who travels frequently would then choose to receive
double points travel, but single points for the rest of the categories.

[0014] Some card holders may be more valuable to a credit card company,
for example by spending more or having good credit. These card holders
can have silver, gold, platinum, titanium, elite or similar status. These
card holders can be allowed to pick more categories with double or higher
points (111). For example, for the simple list of categories provided
above, the card holder is allowed to make in this example two categories
to obtain double points with the rest single points. A card holder who
travels frequently would then choose to receive double points for travel
and restaurants, but single points for the rest of the categories.

[0015] In one embodiment, a card holder earns points directly into a
specific type of reward (106) without conversion. For example, the credit
card holder has an airline card that automatically converts points to
airline points.

[0016] In another embodiment, the points are put in a general account
(105),and then converted to specific points by a card holder. For
example, instead of 500 airline points, 500 general points are obtained
and are subsequently converted to specific points by the card holder.

[0017] In the table provided above, the cardholder earns rewards for every
category of purchase. It is possible to also provide a zero conversion
rate for some purchases, i.e., some purchases get no rewards.

[0018] In another embodiment a determination is made at end of each
period:(such as monthly statement) as to what assignment of point system
per category would allow for accumulation of the greatest points. For
example, the total points in the account if all purchases are at a ratio
of 1× is 500. Double points for groceries would allow for a total
points of 550 and for travel total points of 630. After doing the
calculation of different point assignments, the card holder is awarded
double points in this case for travel as this allows the card holder the
greatest number of points. This calculation is typically done when a
monthly statement is sent out. In the next statement, groceries may
provide more points, and the card issuer would select groceries instead
of travel to reward the card holder.

[0019] This method (FIG. 2) of calculating points afterwards to give a
card holder (116) the maximum reward cam comprise the card issuer
allowing for selection between two or more different categories of
purchases and two or more different payout ratios of reward per unit of
currency spent (120), and the card issuer calculates the different
combinations of pay-out ratios for each selection a card holder is
allowed to make (107), and the card issuer makes the selection that gives
the cardholder the maximum reward (108) for the purchases carried out
with the card network (118) for a period of time. The period of time is
typically that time period where purchases are included in a statement
sent to the card holder.

[0020] The card holder (116) typically deals with a merchant (117) and the
transaction is processed through a network (118). This network (118)
receives an account identifier and a purchase identifier from a
point-of-sale device. The point-of-sale device can be a credit or debit
card reader used by a customer or company employee to swipe a credit or
debit card. In a representative embodiment, a credit card includes a
magnetic strip which is readable by the card reader. The credit card is
read by the reader and account information is communicated along with
purchase information to a processing system. In one embodiment, the point
of sale is not a physical location but an e-commerce web site accessible
over the Internet. In another embodiment, the point-of-sale device is a
handheld device such as a PDA, a smart phone, or other such device. The
purchase identifier can include information such as the particular
product or service being sold and a price for that product or service.
The purchase identifier would allow the system to distinguish between
different categories of goods and services purchased by the card holder.

[0021] A card issuer and a card holder are used to exemplify the
invention. As technology advances, an actual physical card may no longer
be used. The card issuer may provide an application for a personal
computing device rather than a physical card. The invention encompassed
any credit or debit account that provides a reward, whether or not an
actual card is used.

[0022] The card network (118) can be any network that connects the
merchant (typically the merchant's bank) (117) to the card issuer (115),
and can include Visa®, Discover®, American Express®, and
Master Card®.

[0023] The card issuer (115) can be any company or institution that issues
the card, and typically is a bank (Citibank®, Chase®, Capital
One®) that sends the final statement for payment to the card holder.

[0024] Also provided is a computerized system for carrying out the method
described above.